MILITARY LADIES

SILKY22

New Member
I am currently a member of the military and I was just wondering how are my fellow military ladies wearing your hair? When I first joined the military I got a nice razor cut it was really cute. I later decided I wanted to grow my hair out so I started wearing tight ponytails using gel (I know that was way wrong). Then I got into wearing glue in tracks (bad again) my hair was so broke off and damaged that I had to get it cut just under my ear:wallbash:. Then in 2007 I decided to grow it out again. Now when I wear ponytails they are not tight and I use Aloevera gel and braid the ponytail and apply lots of shea butter to my ends and then tuck them away, wear a nice french braid and do the same to my ends or, wear my hair up with a nice clip. So I am interested to find out how you ladies wear your hair, protect it, and be fashionable at the same time:yep: Maybe we can give eachother some ideas.
 
i am fully natural, about 6.5 inches. i wear my hair in a puff with eco gel to slick it back. i always use a leave in and seal it under the gel. i baggy my puff with extra leave in and sealant and then wear a fake bun over it from the local beauty supply store. its protective and professional.

HTH!
 

Avia62

Active Member
I did french braids on each side which helped me keep it simple, neat and protective. I even bought a larger cap that fit perfectly over my braids so it made things easy as far as removing and putting on headgear easily. Now, fashionable I don't have an answer for that one....sorry.
 

DaRKNLuVLy

New Member
I usually just clip my hair up or wear it in a ponytail (not with a rubberband though, with a clip) or knot outs/twist outs because my hair doesnt go past my collar when its like that.
 

Southern Belle

New Member
I only wear buns and braids (in buns).

When my hair is loose I cowash every night, moisturize with burdock root butter, seal the ends with JBCO, put it in a single plait, tie a scarf on my head, and go to bed. In the morning, I take the scarf off and take the plait, wrap it around itself and secure with a bobby pin - and off I go!

After PT, I loosen the plait while I'm in the shower, do a really good rinse and scalp massage, run a lil conditioner through it, plait it back up and secure with the bobby pin, and I'm done.

Definitely not glamorous - but always neat and tidy. And most importantly, it got me to BSL with the snap of a finger.

Right now I'm transitioning, so some days are better than others, but overall - I'm doing pretty good.
 

rainbowknots

New Member
I just wear a ponytail, it's not protected or fashionable. One of my goals for 2010 is to figure out how to protect my ends because it's just not happening right now.
 

rainbowknots

New Member
I hate to hi-jack the thread but I have a question for you ladies since you're already here. How do you maintain your hair in the desert? What's your regimen? I haven't deployed yet but I know my time is coming soon and it's a question that's been bothering me since I joined the board.
 

HisBestFriend

Well-Known Member
I've been in for almost 20 yrs and the bun is the norm. The deal with the bun is that it CAN be stylish if you put care into it.

Maybe create a signature for yourself as far as how you part your hair and don't go changing hair dos every single minute.

Shoot, some folks are so raggedy about their hair that just having a neat bun is stylish and I'm being serious.

Stick with a nice bun and then go one step further accent your face with a touch of makeup. Clear mascara and lip gloss takes your bun go from being neat hair to a hair style.
 

mocha.li

New Member
Before I BC I wore my hair in a bun. Since then I've been wearing cornrows and now I have micros. WHen I take these out I'm going to try lace front wigs. I wish we could go back to wearing patrol caps, the beret doesn't it do it for my hair.
 

TeeKay21

Well-Known Member
I hate to hi-jack the thread but I have a question for you ladies since you're already here. How do you maintain your hair in the desert? What's your regimen? I haven't deployed yet but I know my time is coming soon and it's a question that's been bothering me since I joined the board.

I do the same thing Bella does. I put my hair in a ponytail using water and hemp seed butter for moisture. I seal with red palm butter (it smoothes the edges down FLAT!). Then I moisturize and seal the ends, baggy it and then put a BSS pony on top of it to make a bun. I was did that when I was stationed in the desert and deployed. 1lb of hemp seed butter lasted a whole year, so I only had three things to pack (plus shampoo and conditioner - used kenra chelating poo and ors replenishing packs to keep it simple while deployed).

HTH!
 

complexsimplicity

Well-Known Member
I usually just clip it up. Sometimes I'll put on the fake donut bun. It can be really cute. I'm about to venture into french braids since I just got a braidini. That's all I do. I wish I could help w/ the deployment hair care routine but I didn't know about the board until a month before I left Kuwait. I'll just continue to do what I'm doing now. I'll just make sure I get a heating cap bc I know I can't take my stand up dryer w/ me.
 

LostInAdream

Well-Known Member
I wear my hair in a french roll bc it doesn't pull my edges and doesnt leave the ponytail dent in my hair. See pics

ETA: Excuse the buck shots i was transitioning lol
 

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TeeKay21, I live by the bun. plus I have to make sure my stuff is on point cause i work with new soldiers who dont know anybetter and will call you out if your wrong...lol...

blaqphoenix, I actually transitioned in the desert........yeah, I KNOW!
my last perm was before i went on mid tour in march. i ordered a perm once i got back but the mailroom cought on fire. so i just said *** it, ill wait til i get back to get a perm. then i found LHCF and youtube a month later and havent looked back. i did buns in the desert too but i use my own hair as it was long enough but i wish i would have baggied. probably would have prevented the 2-3 inches of scab hair i had to cut off.

any who, i would stay in the shower for hours detangling that stuff and your only supposed to take 5 min showers...lolol...
i cowashed weekly and shampooed once a month. apply leave in and seal it with shea butter or silicone serum and bun with fantasia brown gel using the scarf method. the silicone serum worked best at locking in moisture but i dont use silicones know.
:blah:
my mom lives in Saudi Arabia and she is having some serious dry hair problems. i try to help but she dont listen. she is natural too....

i know it was long but HTH! :look:
 

apollo

Active Member
I wear my hair in a bun. I use any type of leave-in conditioner, put my hair in a ponytail then I wrap my hair around it and put another hair band around it. By the way I am natural also.
 

1god1

New Member
the last few years, I've been wearing twists and put them in a bun. For deployments, I co-Wash pretty much everyday...mainly due to sweating, the sand and the water. Usually the water is non-potable...they don't want you brushing your teeth with it.
 

Southern Belle

New Member
Whatever you do, do NOT put anything oily on your hair. My girlfriend just came back from a 6 month deployment, and had to chop her beautiful BSL hair down to just past SL. :nono:

She said it was soooooooo hot, the sun literally FRIED her hair. And her hair is THICK! So if it did that to her hair, my fine strands don't stand a chance.... :nono:

So for my deployment, by C-bag will be FULL of V05 condish. I don't know if I'll make it through the mobility processing line, but I will definitely try... :grin:
 

The Princess

Well-Known Member
I hate to hi-jack the thread but I have a question for you ladies since you're already here. How do you maintain your hair in the desert? What's your regimen? I haven't deployed yet but I know my time is coming soon and it's a question that's been bothering me since I joined the board.

After the first three deployments I lost alot of hair. So my last 15 month deployment I was determined to keep my hair and I did. :look:

I would co wash, everyday or every other day, with CON purple conditioner.

I didn't use any heat.

I would deep condition my hair once a month. I didn't have a heatcap so I would let it sit on my hair for 2 hours on my down time.

I kept my hair in a bun. Everyday.

I was stalking LHCF everyday.

The only problem I had, my hair was growing thick at a rapid speed, I didn't know what to do, I had alot of tangles from the shed hair, cause I didn't detangle great. (I still can't detangle well:lachen:)

Besides the detangling issues, I was good.

When I deploy again:blush:, Im ready.

My boss used to bother me playfully though, stating he going to take my hair products cause I was ordering stuff almost every week. He used to catch me on LHCF all the time. It didn't help my desk was right next to his. However I was the only one in my company who came back with hair while others were cutting it, or their hair was falling out. (AA females)

Oh yea sometimes, I would just rinse my hair with cool water, if I didn't feel like co washing or washing. It work.
 

rainbowknots

New Member
Do you ladies think I could keep my hair if I kept it in braids...like microbraids, but a lot bigger and with my own hair (not sure what they are called). I figure, maybe if I do box braids (or pixies or whatever they are called), every week or every other week, and cowash them every day I could maintain that for the 6 months. Wearing them in a bun of course.
 

curlicarib

Lovin'' All of Me
Ya'll are giving me hope! I'm a civilian now, but I've been contemplating a 12 month deployment to East Africa (as a civilian), but Ive been hesitant because of the probable lack of hair care options. I CAN NOT wash & go - I'll come back bald! But ya'll are giving me some good ideas. I think I'll put in for it this week and see if I'm selected!
 

Ivonnovi

Well-Known Member
I hate to hi-jack the thread but I have a question for you ladies since you're already here. How do you maintain your hair in the desert? What's your regimen? I haven't deployed yet but I know my time is coming soon and it's a question that's been bothering me since I joined the board.

1. Learn to braid & twist
2. Have your hair proff done wellllllllll before you leave. Use the "lead" time to learn to maintain your look. (I taught myBFF & she learned quickly)
3, take extra hair, kneehigh bands make gentle hair bands,
4. Keep your products simple, EVOO, Shea butter,
5. Use the time to stretch/transition;
JMHO
 
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SILKY22

New Member
I wear my hair in a french roll bc it doesn't pull my edges and doesnt leave the ponytail dent in my hair. See pics

ETA: Excuse the buck shots i was transitioning lol

Your french roll is beautiful...how do you do that yourself....I may have to try this tomorrow...:grin:
 

SILKY22

New Member
Do you ladies think I could keep my hair if I kept it in braids...like microbraids, but a lot bigger and with my own hair (not sure what they are called). I figure, maybe if I do box braids (or pixies or whatever they are called), every week or every other week, and cowash them every day I could maintain that for the 6 months. Wearing them in a bun of course.

I actually do layered cornrows (extensions) and I wash them once a week, moisturize them everyday with Sta sof fro, use tea tree scalp treatment every other day, and keep them bunned and I have had alot of growth with this method. Im going TDY for 5 months and Im thinking about braiding my hair so I dont have to worry about it.
 
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